Codependent
by idea-of-sarcasm
Summary: CharlieHermione. She's just a little crazy.


**Title:** Co-dependent

**Author:** ideaofsarcasm

**Pairing:** Hermione/Charlie

**Summary:** She's just a _little_ crazy

**Rating:** PG

**Disclaimer: **Shocker isn't it that I am not JK Rowling, nor do I own anything Harry Potter related?

**Author's note :** A piece I was inspired to finish quickly - of course that may have _something_ to do with the length of it. Just putting up this little piece as a tideover until I post my not so family-friendly D/Hr - I tried to upload it about 10 times last week but the site wouldn't let me do it!

* * *

"I'm co-dependent," Hermione announced it bluntly, as Ginny sat down across the table and handed her a cup of tea.

"Pardon me?" her friends eyebrows rose in surprise as she absorbed Hermione's words.

"I'm co-dependent," Hermione repeated her statement resolutely. "I'm in a completey unhealthy relationship."

Ginny giggled at the idea, "Outside of your mutual cooking abilities, I somehow doubt what you and Charlie have is unhealthy or destructive in any way."

"No," she had thought this through carefully the night before, staring down at her boyfriend as he snored in blissful ignorance of the crazy thoughts that were running through his girlfriend's mind. "I read an article about this very thing." She heard Ginny's snort as she continued, "_Losing Your Independance in a Relationship_ - it was in the last Witch Weekly." Normally she would never have paid attention to anything in that rag, but she had flipped through it while she was waiting for Charlie to pick up a book on gardening for his mum.

She took a heavy sigh and glowered into her tea, "I need to end it."

With Ginny's head lowered to the table she couldn't see her friends face, but she swore she could almost _hear_ her roll her eyes. "Have you been drinking?"

She ignored the comment and continued on, "I am not the girl I used to be Ginny."

"That's because you're a twenty-six year old woman," Ginny stressed the last word carefully. She would have burst out in annoyed laughter by this point, but she was used to Hermione's paranoia.

Again Hermione ignored her and kept laying out her case. "I've lost myself in this relationship. I used to be able to function entirely on my own, complete independant of anyone else. Now, I have turned into a needy slag, and I can't stand it. I've come to depend on Charlie way too much. I can't sleep properly unless he's in bed beside me. And time I get important news all I want to do is share it with him. When he goes on consultations to Romania I feel bereft without him. I don't think I've even brought home any pumpkin juice in three months because I know he hates the stuff!"

"But you don't even like pumpkin juice," her friend pointed out reasonably, completely forgetting that logic tended to have no place in Hermione's rambling.

"That's not the point!" her voice was distraught as she responded.

For a moment she could have sworn she saw Ginny fight a smile before settling into a serious expression. "Allright, let's settle this."

Hermione nodded and her friend continued. "Can you make decisions on your own? Do you need his approval for every action you take?"

"Yes," Hermione was indignant at the implication, "And no. Of course not."

Ginny nodded seriously. "And, do you always think that he's right? Do you accept his word as law?"

She laughed aloud before she could stop herself. "You've met your brother, right?"

"And do you cater to his every whim?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "If I did that we would do nothing but watch quidditch, visit his dragons, and eat sweets for supper - while I waited on him hand and foot."

Ginny smiled as she leaned back in her chair. "I hate to break it to you Hermione, but it sounds like you're in a completely functional and _healthy_ adult relationship."

"But what about losing my identity," she almost wailed the words, "I'm not just a _me_ anymore, I'm an _us_."

"That's what happens when you love someone sweetie," Ginny patted her arm, gazing a little relucantly at the picture of her and Harry hanging on the wall with their son. "It's supposed to be that way. If you didn't feel attached to him, then I would think there was something wrong. In fact I would think that you were mistreating my darling brother."

"But it wasn't like this with Viktor, or Ron," Hermione protested weakly. "Or even during that disastorous year I spent with Draco."

"For someone apparently so bloody brilliant you can be dense sometimes," she ignored Hermione's outraged gasp. "That means that they _weren't the right guys_. You didn't love them - you love Charlie. That's why you feel this way about Charlie. I realize this is a novel concept for someone as headstrong as you, but the fact you didn't bend to them a little is one of the reasons that it ended with the others. Now, stop bloody thinking so much, and enjoy the fact that you've found the fucking love of your life!"

She was about to fret again about how it wasn't healthy to think so much about one person, but then she saw him out the window nodding seriously at whatever detail Harry was praising about his new broom. When he saw her staring at him he grinned broadly and waved with his left hand so Harry wouldn't see him, all the while rolling his eyes in apparent frustration at the man beside him. Harry could get a little obsessed about things at times.

Hermione felt herself tearing up a little as she waved back, "I am a lucky woman, aren't I?"

"I'd extol his virtues, physical and otherwise, but that prat's my brother - so I'll just agree with you and leave it at that." Ginny replied wryly, glad that the brother in question had come over so that he could be the one to listen to the advantages of the new Hypersonic 3000 over the latest Nimbus model instead of her. She motioned to her husband when he turned around that they should come in.

When the men came barelling in the door, Charlie leaned over to give Hermione a quick peck on the cheek but was surprised when she pulled him in for a lingering kiss. But it wasn't like he was going to complain; she was the one that was usually steadfastly against public displays of affection, even in front of family. "I love you, you know," she whispered, letting her hand tangle in his shirt as Ginny watched them bemusedly.

"I know," he replied smugly, before grinning widely and kissing her again

Smiling knowingly, Ginny grabbed their teacups muttered a quick cleaning charm before returning them to the cupboard. As the first one to get married, she often felt like the relationship guru in the group (obviously Harry had been married at the same time, but as a clueless male he didn't count). It was her Hermione came to every time she had a relationship crisis. She was the one who counselled Ron when he wanted to ask out Susan Bones. She had been the shoulder Bill cried on when he found out Fleur had cheated on him. And she had practically choreographed Fred and George's proposals to their respective girlfriends - it had taken a long time to convince them popping the question at a quidditch match was not what girls wanted.

She was the one Charlie had come to when he wanted to go shopping for the engagement ring that she knew was bulging in his pocket at that very minute. Not that he'd needed the help; unlike Fred and George with their fiance's he'd understood exactly what type Hermione would like. She got a little weepy at the thought of the very perfect ring he'd designed himself. Her brother worshipped Hermione, psychoses and all, and would do anything to make her happy.

Merlin, if there was a needy one in that relationship, it was him.


End file.
